Skip to content

Drawing the notebook

Ask your agent to draw the notebook when a list no longer answers the question. A map can show what blocks a release, how an epic divides into work, or where a Decision came from. The anb-atlas skill installed by anb setup teaches the agent to build that view from the CLI’s graph data.

“Show what is blocking the parser epic” and “show the whole notebook, including finished work” need different amounts of context. Name the question when asking for a map. The agent selects the graph slice and builds an interactive HTML file with the data embedded.

You can open a record beside the map to read its body and relationships. Filters narrow the view, and completed and archived work remain visually distinct. The page identifies the command that produced its data, so you can reproduce the view or ask for a fresh one.

Leave comments on individual records or on the view as a whole, then return the batch to the agent. It translates the comments into notebook commands and reports the result of each. For example, a comment asking to pause a Task needs a reason before it can become anb hold.

The page never writes record files. It is a snapshot you can keep or share; changes go through anb, with the same checks as any other command. Ask for a new map after changes if you need the updated state.

anb graph --json supplies data for your own renderer too:

View Command
Whole notebook, including the archive anb graph --json --archive --full
One epic anb graph --json --for <hub> --full
Ready work anb graph --json --ready --full
Neighbors of one record anb graph --json --focus <id> --depth 2 --full
Tasks anb graph --json --type task --full

Graph JSON is never truncated. --all is only needed to remove bounds from the plain text rendering. --full includes record envelopes and bodies; omit it when ids, titles and state are enough.

The document contains v for the format version, slice for the query, nodes and edges. Nodes include identity, type, state, readiness, archive status, degree, creation date and title. Tasks may include priority, and hubs include epic progress.

Edge Direction
waits The prerequisite points to the Task waiting on it
born The origin points to the record created from it
mentions The citing record points to the cited record

The CLI defines the graph; the skill defines the presentation and review workflow. Its installed files contain the layout guidance for agents building a page.